Looper trimmer



June 19, 1934- fr. H. DE SPAIN i 1,963,836

LOOPER TRIMMER Tizom a5 He LooPER TRIMMER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wwmaswevq@ @7115 Sum/Mq s June 19, 1934. T. H. DE SPAIN 1,963,836

LOOPER TRIMMER Filed Jan. 24, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 19, .1934.

Filed Jan. 24, 1933 T. H. DE SPAIN LOOPER TRIMMER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 `lune 19, 1934. T, H DE SPAIN LOOPER TRIMMER Filed Jan. 24, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 gwue/wboo Wig/omas [l Be SpavzLn/l HUIHIIIIIIIIHHIIIHIIIIIHIIIIIIHIIIHIIIIII (91% Gum/Ms Patented June 19, 1934 'Loorsn TRlMMER' Thomas H. e Spain, Paducah,`Ky., assigner to Southern Textile Machinery Company,

Paducah, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application January 24,

1933, Serial N0. 653,312

13 Claims. (Cl. 112;.26)

This invention relates to improvements in sewing machines and particularly to sewing machines of the type commonly known as cylinder loopers in that they are especially adapted for joining,

Q1 by looping, two pieces of tubular knit fabric.

Tubular knit articles or fabrics are knitted spirally, the main course of the thread or yarn lying in a spiral similar to the course of threads onra bolt or screw. To facilitate looping, or join- 1Q ing together, two tubular knitted articles, such as, for instance, the tops and the boots of hosiery, experienced knitters run or form what is called a loose course in the top and in the boot at the point at which they are to be joined to form the complete hose. This loose course is merely a 'series of loosely knitted stitches, so that the interstices formed by the loops or stitches are somewhat enlarged. The path of this loose course is spiral, the same as the path of the thread or yarn l referred to. In looping or joining the two sections of the hose, said sections are placed on what are' called work cylinders, this putting the work on consisting of placing the spirally arranged series of loose stitches, or the stitches of the loose u course, on impaling pins. The work is easily put on the lmpallng pins of the work cylinder be` cause the enlarged interstices or loops in the loose course facilitate the operator placing the successive stitches of that course on the successive impaling pins. Also, experienced knitters, after 'knitting the loose course, form or knit an extra length of fabric after the loose course is formed. This extra length of fabric, which ranges' from one-quarter to one-half an inch, is commonly reuferred to as a finger hold, in that it forms a vmeans whereby the operator may conveniently grasp the piece of work for the purpose of inserting the -impaling pins of the work cylinder in the loose course of stitches. When the boot and top l ot the hose have been placed on the pins of the work cylinder, preparatory to being joined on the looper machine, these linger holds will be exposed around the periphery of the work cylinder at the bases of the pins, the boots 'and tops proper a being positioned within the work cylinder whose interior is hollow.

One ofthe principal difliculties encountered in thus looping the sections to be joined is the severance or trimming of the finger holds after' the sections have been looped or united. That is, due to the fact that each individual 'course of stitches in the fabric is a spiral, it will be appreciateo that at the point where any two spirals overy lap, so to speak, the stitches of the two successive l spira-ls 'will not lie -in the saine plane, and, as a result, if the finger holds are'trimmed oi around the work cylinder in thesame plane radially of the cylinder, the thread or yarn forming the fabric will be cut too short at some one point, thereby producing a hole in the finished article and causing a run to form in the hose. Expressed difierently, the threads or stitches in the fabric lying in spirals, and the threads or stitches constituting the finger hold outside of the stitches impaled on the pins of the work cylinder are located at gradually increasing distances from the axis of rotation of the work cylinder, so that a trimming mechanism running in a fixed plane radially with respect to said axis will sever the thread and at least two rows of stitches.

With this difficulty in mind, the primary object of the invention is to provide a trimming mechanis'm for a cylinder louper which will trim, during one rotation of the cylinder, in two diierent planes to compensate for this spiral arrangement of the threads constituting the work,

A further 'object is to provide means for varying the plane in which the trimmer engages the work whereby the plane of 'engagement is Varied only at a xed 'point circumferentially of the work cylinder, After the nger holds are trimmed, the work is brushed to remove portions of stitches or lint therefrom, and a further object of the invention is to providemeans, in the form of what is termed a hold downplate, which will prevent accidental displacement of the work from the inip'aling pins during both the trimming and` brushing operations and particularly during the latter operation because the linger holds hav-y ing been removed at the time the work is brushed,r there is greater liability of the brush causing the stitches to be thrown or pushed off of the impaling pins. f Y

'More specifically, the invention comprises a trimming mechanism whose cutting devices or knives may notonlyV be moved back and forth into and out of engagement with the work, but is also adapted to be moved by means on tne work cylinder so as to vary the plane at which it engages the work during the actual trimming operation. y A

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists of certain novel details of construction, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter moreA fully described, and the novel features there of particularly pointed 'out in the appenizledv claims. v 1

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the work cylinder supporting table of a sewing machine, illustrating the trimmer mechanism associated with one work supporting cylinder and a second Work supporting cylinder associated wi-th the sewing mechanism, the latter being shown more or less diagrammatically;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational viewof the trimmer mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a View taken at right angles to Fig. 2, portions of the base of the machine and of the table and work cylinder being shownrin section;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan View of a portion of onerof the work cylinders, illustrating, more or less diagrammatically, how the spiral of stitches of one of thev pieces of fabric are positioned on the impalingpins, and the relation, with respect to those stitches, of a number of stitches of the next adjacent spiral of stitches;

- Fig. '7 is an elevational view of one of the Work cylinders for the present machine;

Fig. 8 is a perspective detail view illustrating the cutting devices or knives;

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view on the line 9--9 of Fig. 2, illustrating the adjustability of the lower knife;

Fig. 10 is an `elevational View of the hold down plate or guard for retainingv the workY on the impaling pins during the-trimming and brushing operations;

' Fig. 11V is a detail sectional View on the. line 11-11 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 12 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 12-12 of Fig. 1.

The trimming mechanism is illustrated in connection with what is known as a cylinder looper, although, as will be appreciated, it is not limited to use with'this particular type of machine.A .As shownv in Fig. 1, Vthe looper machine comprises a work support inthe form of a rotatably Ymounted turret 10 adapted to carry a plurality oi work supporting cylinders, one cylinder 11 being shown in operative association with a sewing mechanism indicated more or less diagrammatically at 12 and a second cylinder 13 being positioned in operative association with the trimming mechanism constituting the present invention. ,A looper machine of the typev illustrated is fully shown and described in applicants co-pending application,V

Serial No. 582,859, filed December 23,v 1931, so thatit need not 'be described in Vdetail in the present instance. Sulice it to say that the turret 10 is rotated to successively positionv the work supporting cylinders in operative association with the sewing mechanism and then in operative association with the trimming mechanism. Located centrally of the turret is a Vvertically movable post 14, having mounted thereon arms 15, and at the outer ends of said arms there are, what might be termed hold down plates for retaining the worky on the impaling pins 16 of the work supporting cylinders. The hold down plate which engages withthe work on the cylinder associated with the sewing mechanism is preferably in the form of a circular disc but the hold down plate 18 for the work cylinder in the trimming position is of a special construction to be later described. -Also,

.as disclosed'in my copending application, above referred to, the sewing mechanism 12 is mountedA on a slidable base 19, whereby said sewing mechanism may be moved toward and away from the work cylinder supporting turret. When the hose top is placed on a work cylinder, together with the boot for the purpose-of uniting the two parts, the finger hold portion of the top, as well as the finger hold portion of the boot, will hang loosely from the impaling pins, aroundfthe exterior of the work cylinder. YIt is these loosely hanging portions that are to be removed by the trimmer mechanism but, due to the spiral arrangement of the stitches, it will be appreciated that, if the trimmer trims the work, in a xed plane, radially of the center of rotation of the work supporting cylinder, the cutting devices or blades of the trimmer, at some po-int during the rotation of the work, will engage and sever one or more stitches in one convolution of stitches other than the convolution of stitches which it originally engaged. This will result in a. hole in the nished article and, therefore, it is necessary to have what might be called a floating trimmer, whereby, the position of the trimmer relative-to Vthe work may be varied radially with respect to the center of rotation of the work cylinder. ably, this relative movement between the trimmer and the work supporting cylinder is effected by havingthe trimmer so mounted'as to be capable .of being rocked toward cylinder. v

[In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the

trimming. mechanism, which will be described in detail `later,.is carried on a support l20 pivoted on a pin 21 in the arms 22 of a bracket 23 pro'- jecting fromthe base portion'or pedestal (not shown) of the machine proper. Atthe time the sewing mechanism is retracted` from the work cylinder in sewingl position to permit vthe turret l10v to be turned tomovevthat 'cylinder to trimming position, it is also necessary thatV thev trimming mechanism be retracted from the work cylinder lin trimming position; attached to the sliding base 15J-'one end of 4a connecting rod'24"(Figs. 1 and'12), vwhose'o'ther end is attached to anfarm`25 of a shaft 26 journaled inv a sleeve 27 on the bracket 23; vSaid shaft 26 carries a second arm 28', in which there is threaded a bolt29, whose headed-end engages the pivoted support 20 off the trimmer mechanism. As will be apparent,l movement of the base 19 away from the turret. will rock shaft 26 and .the latter, through engagement of the bolt 29 -With support 20, will elfectamovement of the support away from the tur-ret; Movement of the trimmer supi portaway-frcml the turret is yieldingly resisted by means of a plunger 30 slidable inthe bracket -23, a'spring 31'being interposed between the bearing for said plunger, and the headed vend A32 of said plunger, which engages the lower portion of the trimmer support. movement of the trimmer support toward the turret, there is preferably provided on said sup-'I port an adjustable stop'33'adapted to engage' stitch of said course, indicated at3.8, vwill be lo-- cated-in advanceof thel elongated pin-ilmwith respect to the'direction of rotation of the cyl-- inder and the last,V or overlapping loose-stitchesv formed in the nextpspiralf or convolutionV Will-bev Preferand vfromV the -workV For thisrpurpose. there is To accurately limitlocated partly in advance of the elongated pin and partly in the rear of said pin at the outer side of the pins. Mounted on support 20 is a projection in the form of a headed bolt screwed into a socket. 36. attached to said support and formed on the periphery of each work supporting cylinder is a cam surface 37 which, during the rotation of the work cylinder when in trimming position is adapted to engage projection 35 and rock the support 20 on its pivot away from the work support to a slight extent. Cam 37 on each work supporting cylinder is so located relative to the elongated impaling pin 16a, that this slight movement of the trimmer support, radially outward from the work supporting cylinder, will take place just before the trimming devices come into contact with the loose stitches outside of the impaling pins in advance of the elongated pins 16a. In other words, the trimming devices are moved radially outward from the impaling pins so that they will not engage and sever` the first loose stitch in the overlapping loose stitches at the outside of the impaling pins. In this way,l the thread forming the stitches will not be severed so close to the last loose stitch in the. convolution of stitches on the impaling pins as to permit said last stitch in that convolution to unravel. Expressed differently, with Fig. G in mind, the trimming devices will engage and sever the loose stitches at the outside of the. pins and in the rear of impaling pin 16a and will continue to sever stitches in that course of stitches until cam 37 comes into engagement with projection 35, whereupon the trimming devices will be caused to sever the stitches in a different plane radially with respect to the work cylinder, or will be caused to sever stitches in the next course of stitches spaced radially from the impaling pins.

Various forms of trimmer devices or cutting elements and actuating mechanism therefor may be utilized, but in the present instance, there is illustrated a fixed cutting blade 39 mounted on the trimmer support and a reciprocatory cutting blade 40y carried by an arm 41 pivoted on a bracket 42 on said support. Reciprocatory motion is imparted to this movable cutting blade by means of a pitman rod 43 connected to said arm 41 and eccentrically journaled on a shaft 44 journaled in bearings in support 20. Rotary motion is imparted to said shaft through flexible drive connections 45 from the main driveI shaft of the machine. For rotating the work cylinders on the turret 10, each cylinder is journaled in bearings 46 in the turret and is provided on its periphery near its base with a gear 47 through which a step by step movement is imparted to the cylinder by a dog 48 pivoted on the trimmer support at 49 and yieldingly held in engagement with the gear 47 by spring 50. Dog 48 is actuated by a cam roller 51 engaging in a box cam 52 on shaft 44, so that at each revolution of shaft 44, dog 48 will be rocked on its pivotal` center 49 to move the work cylinder one step forwardly. The movable knife is adjustable with respect to the fixed knife radially of the work cylinder by having the arm 41 pivoted on a shaft 53 extending through a sleeve 54 threaded in the bracket 42, said sleeve being locked in any desired position in said bracket by means of a locking nut 55. By loosening up on the locking nut 55', the sleeve 54, together with the shaft 53 and arm 41 may be readily adjusted radially with respect to the work cylinder. The trimmed portions of the fabric fall into. ay chute. 67.

It is also desirable to brush the work after the on the crank arm 6.o is a connecting' rod 61 attached to. an. arm 6 3 mounted on the shalt 64. of the brush 55. Said shaft 64 is journaled in a bracket or rigid arm 62, adjustably mounted onY the support 20. Rotary motion of shaft 56 will result in the brush 65 being oscillated in its bearings, the ends of the brush elements engaging and removing from the trimmed portion of the work, lintv or other undesirable matter.. Preferably, the major portion of the brush is encased in a housing 66v` As heretofore mentioned, the Work is retained on the workA cylinders when in trimming position by specially designed means consisting of a plate 18 adapted to be received within the circular series of impaling pins on the work cylinders. Suc-h a circular plate in and by itself will retain the work on the pins during the trimming operation,` but. after the. finger holds have been trimmed off of the work, additional means are required to prevent accidental displacement of the work from, the pins while engaged by the brush 65.A .In the present instance, these additional means consist of a ange formed, at the. periphery of plate 18 adapted to extend over the pins and down on the outside of said pins, as shown in Figs., 4 and 10. The depending portion 18a of saidl flange is cut away as indicated at 18h to permit contact of the brush with work on the pins, but this cut away portion is of such small dimension that the adjacent. overhanging portions of the ange will prevent the brush pushing the stitches up off of the ends of the` pins.

There are shown in the present illustration only two work cylinders, but, as fully shown and described in my copending application,v the turret lo carries three of said cylinders so spaced on the turret that when one cylinder is in sewing pesi-.

tion and the second cylinder isr in trimming position, the third cylinder will be available to the operator for the removal of the previously sewn and trimmed work and the placement of a new piece of work thereon. With this understanding, a general description of the cycle of operation of the present machine will be given. Assuming that the work on the cylinder 13y has been looped,v and thaty cylinder advanced to the position shown in Fig. 1, the second cylinder 11 is. at the same time, advanced to sewing position, while the operator then has. available the third cylinder (not shown). for the purpose of the placement of work thereon. Through suitable vcontrol devices, shown and described in my co-pending application, the machine is put into operation, whereupon base 19 moves towards the work cylinder in the sew ingP position and the trimmer mechanism support 20 is rocked on its pivotal center by connecting rod 24, so that the trimming devices and the brush are brought into operative association with work on cylinder 13. The driving connections for the sewing devices and trimming and brushing mechanisms are also rendered operative at this time, so that while the work on cylinder 11 in sewing position is being looped, the work on cylinder 13 is being trimmed and brushed. The cutting devices or trimming blades engage. and trim the work on cylinder 13 in a single plane radially of work cylinder 13 during the major portion of the rotation of said cylinden, but when cam 37 on that cylinder or the cylinder in trimming position, comes into engagement with of stitches it nrst engaged and severed. In

way, the thread is not severed so close to the point at which it runs from the last stitch in the course of loose stitches on 'the irnpaling pins into the first stitch of the next course of stitches outside of the impaling pins as to permitthe thread to unravel and destroy the stitches constituting the course of stitches on the impaling pins. After the work onthe cylinder in sewing position has been looped and the work onthe cylinder in trimming position has been trimmed, the operating connections are automatically rendered inoperative and base '19 retracted to remove the sewing mechanism from operative position and to remove the trimming devices from operative association with the work, whereupon the operator imparts a one-thread revolution to the turret to bring the previously trimmed work into sewing position and to position the new work in trimming position and to transfer the last sewn work towhat might be termed unloading position, or the position in which that piece of work may be removed-from the work cylinder and a new piece of work placed thereon.

What I claim is:

1. In a sewing machine, a rotatable work cylinder, a trimming mechanism comprising cutting devices movable into-and out` of operative association with work on said cylinder, and means operable during the rotation of the cylinder for varying the plane in which said cutting devices engage the work radially of the cylinder.

2. In a sewing machine, a rotatable work supporting cylinder, a pivotally supported trimmer mechanism comprising cutting devices movable into and out of engagement with Vwork on said cylinder to trim thework circumferentially of the cylinder, and means for rocking said trimmer while-in engagement with the work to vary.

the plane in which said cutting devices .engage the work radially of the cylinder.

3. In a sewing machine, the combination o1" a rotatable work supporting cylinder, .a trimmer mechanism comprising cutting devices, a pivoted support for said mechanism whereby the cutting devices may be moved into engagement with work on said cylinder, and means for moving said pivoted support relatively to said cylinder while said cutting devices are in engagement with the Work to vary the plane, radially of the cylinder,

Y lin which the cutting devices engage work on said cylinder.

Vi. In a sewing machine, the combination of a work cylinder forming a support for tubular Work and a trimmer mechanism comprising cutting devices for trimming the work circumferentially oi the cylinder, and means for positioning said cutting devices relatively to the cylinder for severing the work in one plane radially oi the cylinder through a. portion oi the circumference of the cylinder and in a different radial plane during the remainder of said circumference.

5. In a sewing machine, the combination of y a work support, cutting devices for trimming work on said support, means for moving said cutting devices into and out of operative association with work on the support, and zmeans operable while said devices areengaged with the work for varying theoperative position of saidvcutting devices.

6. In a sewing machine, a cylindrical work support, a trimming mechanism comprising cutting devices, means for ei'iecting a relative movement of said devices and work on the support for positioning said devices in engagement with the work, and means for varying the plane in which said cutting devices engage the work during the trimming operation. Y i

7. In a sewing machine, a work support, a trimrming mechanism comprising cutting devices,

means for eiiecting a relative movement of said support and devices for positioning said devices in engagement with work on the support, and means forv varying the position of said cutting devices with respect to said support during the trimming operation.

8. In a sewing machine, a cylindrical work support,"a trimming mechanism comprising cutting devices, means for moving said cutting devices from an inoperative position into operative association with Work on said support, and means movable with said support for moving the cutting devices with respect thereto during the cutting operation.

9. In a sewing machine, a cylindrical work support, a trimming mechanism comprising cutting devices, means for moving said cutting devices from an inoperative position into operative association with work Yon said support, and means formed on said work support for moving the cutting devices relatively to the support during the cutting operation.

l0. In a sewing machine, a cylindrical work support, a trimming mechanism comprising cut` gagement with the work for moving said cutting f devices relatively to said work radiallyA of the work Y supporting cylinder.y

1l. In a sewing machine, a work support, a trimmer mechanism comprising cutting devices, a pivoted support for said mechanism, means for rocking said support to move said cutting devices from an inoperative position to a work en gaging position, and means on said work support engageable with the trimmer support tor rocking the latter and varying the work engaging position of said cutting devices.

12. Ina trimming mechanism for sewing machines, a rotatable work support, impaling pins` on said support, cutting devices for severing the portionto be trimmed ofi1 of work supported on said pins, a brush engageable with the trimmed work on the pins, means positioned against the work at one side of the pins preventing accidentall displacement of the work while'being trimmed, and means projecting over said pins preventing accidental displacement or" the work by said brush.

13. In a trimmer mechanism for sewing ma-A chines, a series of impaling pins onwhich the work is ysupported by having the work stitches impaled on said pins, cutting devices for trimming work at one side of said pins, a brush for brushing the trimmed work a-retaining plate at the opposite side of said pins to prevent accidental displacement of the work from `the pins byl the cutting devices, and a iiange on said plate projecting over said pins to prevent accidental displacement of the work by .said brush.

`THOMAS H. DE SPAIN.

Mia' 

